The Process Of Designing: Context, Concept, Diagram, & Parti

(Frederick)

“To be an architect is to possess an individual voice speaking a generally understood language of form.” - Robert A. M. Stern

            What does it mean to understand the language of form? How does an architect begin to create a form? What criteria should be included in an architectural form? These are all questions that should be addressed in the design process of any project. During the design process the architect should be developing the context, concept, diagram, and parti through simultaneous analysis. All of these elements feed off each other and ultimately create the form.

            If design is a process with the form as an end resultant, there must be a logical starting point? Many architects would debate what the starting point is in a design. In my own experience I would signify context as the first building block in a design because it gives specificity to the project.  The formal definition of context is “That which surrounds, and gives meaning to, something else.” (Howe) The origin of the word literally means, “to join by weaving.” In language words are joined together to influence the overall meaning of a sentence. When a quote is taken out of context it often loses its effect or meaning, the same is true with architecture. Architecture needs context to give it meaning. Eero Saarinen says this about context, “Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context - a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.” The context also gives an operating limit to the concept.

            In “Design Drawing” Francis Ching defines concept as “a mental idea or image capable of generating and guiding the development of a design.” Developing a concept based on context can be an arduous task. Ching sets up some guides lines that all concepts should cover. A concept should be:

·  Inclusive: capable of addressing the multiple issues of a design problem

·  Visually descriptive: powerful enough to guide the development of a design

·  Adaptable: flexible enough to accept change

·  Sustainable: able to endure manipulations and transformations during the design process without a loss of identity

As mentioned earlier concept is directed from the context of a project. Because every project instigates new context and problems the concept should be unique to the project. One graphic way to represent elements of a concept is through diagrams.

            “A diagram is any drawing that explains or clarifies the parts, arrangement, or operation of something.” (Ching) When drawing diagrams, the object is not to stimulate the end result but to show an abstraction that represents a main idea. In the beginning stages of design it is important to start with a varying rang of possibilities so that when an opportunity presents itself, in the design, it can be further explored. Diagrams are often helpful to analyze relationships between elements in the design. For example a circulation diagram could be helpful in understanding how the different parts of program become homologous. Another specific type of diagram is a parti.

            Matthew Frederick, author of “101 Things I learned In Architecture School” interprets a parti as, “…the central idea or concept of a building.” Parti diagrams are often used to explain how the concept affects the general experience of the building. A parti can also help clarify how the contextual information affects the concept. The circumstances of a project should influence and help shape the parti. According to Fredrick “some will argue that an ideal parti is wholly inclusive – that is informs every aspect of a building from its overall configuration and structural system to the shape of the doorknobs. Others believe that a perfect parti is neither attainable nor desirable.” In my opinion the parti becomes a visual story that communicates the steps taken to arrive at a given concept. (context>concept>parti)

            In the design process an architect will go through a number of concepts, diagrams, and parties before finding the right one. The important thing in this process is that one idea will give into several new ones. An idea must be worked and reworked before it can be finalized and eventually become a physical architectural object. Henry Watton, a famous English author, once said, “In architecture as in all other operative arts, the end must direct the operation. The end is to build well. “

works cited:

Ching, Frank, and Steven P. Juroszek. Design Drawing. New York: J. Wiley, 1998. Print.

"context." The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing. Denis Howe. 11 Jan. 2011. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/context>.

Frederick, Matthew. 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2007. Print.